AT THE MOVIES (July 13, 2023)

Before the release of the 1997 film Titanic, studio executives were worried that it would be a commercial failure. Sony had paid $800,000 for the rights to the soundtrack album and were hoping it would include a theme song. However, James Cameron, the director did not want to end Titanic with a pop song, feeling it would be inappropriate.

“My Heart Will Go On” was originally composed by James Horner as an instrumental “thought” throughout the soundtrack. Wanting to prepare a vocal version to use during the end credits, Céline Dion’s name kept being mentioned as a good choice. Having recorded two other film songs, Dion initially did not want to record “My Heart Will Go On”, however, her husband and producer, René Angélil, convinced her to record a demo. After listening to Céline Dion’s recording, James Cameron gave the final ok for the song to be used during the final credits.

“My Heart Will Go On” is one of the biggest radio hits and best-selling singles in history, having sold more than 18 million copies worldwide. It was also the best selling single of 1998 worldwide. Streams increased following the recent tragic Titan submersible implosion, which sparked a renewed interest in Titanic. 

Here is the award-winning Canadian singer Céline Dion performing “My Heart Will Go On” during one of her shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

That was rather breathtaking, wasn’t it? Have any of you seen Céline Dion’s Las Vegas act?

The question for today is about cruises. Have you ever been on a cruise? Where did you go and how was the experience?

I’ll start things off by telling you something about our cruise to The Bahamas. Right off the bat we were in very rough waters with the majority of people on board getting seasick, even veteran cruisers. Mr. Bill who never gets seasick admitted to feeling a bit queasy. My sons and I were horribly sick so made our way down to the dispensary for seasickness shots. I didn’t have much faith in the ship’s doctor when he said he’d never given shots to kids before and didn’t know the dosage! Well, there was no way I was going to let my boys suffer for the next 10 days so I suggested Dr. Demento give each boy half an adult dose, which he did (as long as I took full responsibility). It worked like a charm! The three of us slept for the next 12 hours straight; when we woke up, we felt fine and were able to enjoy the rest of our cruise. But because my sons and I get terribly seasick, that was our first and last cruise.

Now it’s your turn if you’d like to share a cruise story.

Thanks for being on board with me today; I hope you enjoyed the show!

Catch you next week for another day At The Movies.

See you on the flip side.

I’m The Sicilian Storyteller

NAR © 2023